Friday afternoon, post-happy hour, rant

I am sick and tired of quantitating my microinjection data. I've been doing this for two weeks and I'm going crazy. I've microinjected and quantified over 10,000 cells in this time period, all in the attempt to finish this damned paper. I've injected soo many cells that I've even accidentally microinjected the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) on several occasions (for anyone who has never microinjected, this is a very rare event). Want proof? Here's fluorescent dextran in the ER:

i-dd927691aa8e727cc7e690f68e90e7f5-microinjER.jpg

But I'm going crazy. I give up. I can do it anymore. I've put aside my blog, our policy paper, walking to work (too slow), and sunlight. Finally at 5PM I got out of the microscope room, where I've been living all this time, and had a beer, or two, or three ... you get the picture ... and now I find myself back in this dark cold room listening to Godspeed! You Black Emperor, with Metamorph on and about 150 pictures to quantify ... and I just refuse to do it. Hopefully by next week all this pain will be over. Thankfully I'm going camping this weekend. No dark rooms. No micromanipulator. Ciao Axiovert200, see you latter Narshige injector apparatus. Bye bye Rapoport lab. Catch you in a bit you spiteful COS-7 cells. (I refuse to even consider splitting you, and your Hela neighbors) ... well at least until Monday afternoon ...

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You don't know how enormously chuffed it makes me, as an ex-student-radio DJ (and programme controller), that I'm writing a paper with someone else who knows just how fantastic Godspeed! are.

(If you like them, check out 65daysofstatic; imagine gy!be jamming with Squarepusher and you're about there.)

Andrew, who has a complete set of Mogwai records too, even the tour EPs...

So when do we quantitate, and when do we quantify? A question I have asked many, to many an answer.... anyway, microinjecting the ER... that is freakin' hard-core, Alex.

By George Smiley (not verified) on 31 Aug 2007 #permalink

Yeah my wife hates it when I use the word quantitate ... in any case I'm leaving for the White Mountains in 10mins where both "quantitate" and "quantify" are banned words. Live free or die!